Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir paid their respects to Iran’s late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Friday.

PM Shehbaz led a high-level delegation that included National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari and Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said.

Field Marshal Munir travelled to Tehran separately ahead of the ceremony.

Senate Chairman Yousaf Raza Gilani also arrived in Tehran earlier in the day with a separate high-level delegation.

PM Shehbaz and his delegation were received at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport by Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, Imran Ahmed Siddiqui, and senior diplomats from both countries.

The visit came at the invitation of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian for the funeral of Iran’s late supreme leader, who was martyred on February 28 during attacks on Iran by the US and Israel.

During the funeral ceremony, PM Shehbaz conveyed condolences on behalf of the people of Pakistan and the government to Iran’s leadership and the bereaved families.

He also expressed solidarity with Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, President Pezeshkian and the Iranian people.

Separately, Field Marshal Munir met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran, where he paid tribute to the services of the late supreme leader.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said delegations from nearly 100 countries, along with civil society groups and public figures, took part in the state funeral.

PM Shehbaz departs for Istanbul

After concluding his engagements in Tehran, the prime minister departed for Istanbul at the invitation of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

In Turkiye, he is expected to meet the Turkish leadership and address a business conference. During his meeting with business leaders, the prime minister will highlight the investment opportunities in Pakistan’s Special Economic Zones, energy, information technology, trade and privatisation sectors.